Extended Agulhas Plain Tour(4 Days)

Birds: 9/10
Scenery: 7/10
General tourism value: 6/10

Day 1: Drive the coastal route from Cape Town to Hermanus, stopping at Sir Lowry's Pass, Betty's Bay, and Harold Porter Botanical Gardens on the way.

Day 2: Drive through the Agulhas Plain from Hermanus to De Hoop Nature Reserve, visiting Cape Agulhas and other sites of interest. Overnight at De Hoop.

Day 3: Explore De Hoop and Potberg before driving through to Grootvadersbosch.

Day 4: Explore Grootvadersbosch for most of the day before returning to Cape Town.

Overview:

The extended Agulhas Plain tour incorporates a visit to De Hoop Nature Reserve, to mix our birding with game viewing - Black Rhino and Cape Mountain Zebra can be seen here among other animals. The Potberg mountain holds the last Cape Vulture breeding colony in the Western Cape, as well as small but significant populations of Striped Flufftail and Black-rumped Buttonquail. Other special birds among the list of 260 species recorded for the reserve are Southern Tchagra, Pied Starling, Orange-throated Longclaw, Bokmakierie, Pearl-breasted Swallow, Pied Barbet, Black Harrier, African Black Oystercatcher and eight species of canary.

In the afternoon of the third day we will drive on to the montane forests of Grootvadersbosch, where several Afrotropical highland endemics, including Forest Buzzard, Knysna and Olive woodpeckers, Grey Cuckooshrike, Yellow-throated and Knysna warblers, Olive Bush Shrike, Swee Waxbill and Forest Canary can be seen. We will spend most of the fourth day walking in these forests, before driving back to Cape Town.